Pages

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Corn and Barley Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you're looking for something new to serve at your next picnic or barbecue, you might want to give this corn and barley salad a try. Barley is an underutilized grain in most of our diets. It's been cultivated for over 10,000 years, but was, for much of that time, considered to be animal fodder or the grain of the poor. It was brought to North America by English and Dutch settlers who used it to make their bread and, perhaps more importantly, their beer. The grain has a rich nutlike flavor with a texture that is similar to pasta and it can be purchased in pearled, hulled and flaked form. Pearled barley, the form we most use, is polished or pearled to make it faster cooking. In this recipe, it is combined with corn and other vegetables to give it sweetness, color and a bit of additional texture. This salad works really well with Southwestern-style meals and is a nice change from standard picnic fare. I used quick-cooking barley to make the salad I served last night, but if you are concerned with nutrient loss, and time is not an issue, other forms of barley can be used. This makes a really nice salad. Here's the recipe.

Directions:1) Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in barley. Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes , or until tender. Cool.2) Combine tomato, corn, red pepper, cucumber, onions and barley in a large bowl.3) Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over barley mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Yield: 5 servings.

I really love barley and tend to stock up frequently, although I find there are not enough good recipes around for me to cook it regularly. This is perfect for me - a lovely combination of whole grains and fresh summer ingredients.

Wow, I had just posted a salad on my blog as well. The weather is making cooking over fire a real challenge. Of course we love the opportunity to still challenge ourselves. This salad is something new to me, but sounds really interesting and good.

This does sound deliciously different. If I get to the point where I can stop eating corn right off the cob I'll give it a try. So far, my tiny little mother holds the record of eating corn on the cob for my family--5 ears in one sitting. I'm hot on her heels!!

I love and adore things like this that can be served at room temp, still taste delicious, AND be healthy! Don't get me wrong - I love serving some naughty things at get togethers. Which makes dishes like these a refreshing course in between. Thanks for sharing!

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice